Multiple GPU's for Video Editing

[Solidww]

Well, here are my two cents if your interested.

OpenCL, does tend to be better off when it comes to sheer performance. Really though, it will come down to whether the increase in price = the increase in performance. Do you feel the decrease in render times is worth the dollars you will spend? Usually, a high end card will give an increase in performance but you will need a lot of Hard Drive speed, a fast CPU, and a "BUS" that can handle all that data throughput. Ivy Bridge and beyond really shouldn't give you any CPU, and/or BUS, latency issues with an i7. You will still need to purchase fast drives or build a RAID to get fully maximize the efficiency of your system.

Lastly, what kind of media are you working with that you need the fastest processing possible?

 

[ATB]

Well, here are my two cents if your interested.

OpenCL, does tend to be better off when it comes to sheer performance. Really though, it will come down to whether the increase in price = the increase in performance. Do you feel the decrease in render times is worth the dollars you will spend? Usually, a high end card will give an increase in performance but you will need a lot of Hard Drive speed, a fast CPU, and a "BUS" that can handle all that data throughput. Ivy Bridge and beyond really shouldn't give you any CPU, and/or BUS, latency issues with an i7. You will still need to purchase fast drives or build a RAID to get fully maximize the efficiency of your system.

Lastly, what kind of media are you working with that you need the fastest processing possible?

Why wouldnt someone need/or want the fastest processing possible?

Is there a reason for this? I would tend to think "the faster, the better".

?

I do not understand your question, am I missing something?

 

[Solidww]

Why wouldnt someone need/or want the fastest processing possible?

Is there a reason for this? I would tend to think "the faster, the better".

?

I do not understand your question, am I missing something?

Read the entire post. Then, ask again if still lost.

 

[ATB]

Read the entire post. Then, ask again if still lost.

Wasnt lost. Not following you entirely though. I started this thread to inquire/in hopes to find out ("get to the bottom") of Radeon graphics cards, because they are about 1/3 the price of NVIDIA, and alot of them support OpenCL.

My approach is the faster/more powerful the better. You can get three Radeon 7950 cards w/ 384bit 3GB DDR5 RAM each for about $600, whereas ONE NVIDIA card with 3GB DDR5 RAM, 384 bit costs $670.

9GB RAM 384 bit for $600 (Radeon)
-vs-
3GB RAM 384 bit for $669.99 (NVIDIA)

The dif I can tell between 7950 and 7970 is 256 stream processors, but that is a cost of $80 per card. Doesnt seem worth it.

My budget was for $400 for a graphics card. If Radeon cards "worked" could have 6GB 384bit for $400, or even 9GB 384bit for $600 ($70 less than just one NVIDIA card).

This is my approach - still trying to figure it all out

Im looking to edit video, no gaming.

 

[Solidww]

Wasnt lost. Not following you entirely though. I started this thread to inquire/in hopes to find out ("get to the bottom") of Radeon graphics cards, because they are about 1/3 the price of NVIDIA, and alot of them support OpenCL.

My approach is the faster/more powerful the better. You can get three Radeon 7950 cards w/ 384bit 3GB DDR5 RAM each for about $600, whereas ONE NVIDIA card with 3GB DDR5 RAM, 384 bit costs $670.

9GB RAM 384 bit for $600 (Radeon)
-vs-
3GB RAM 384 bit for $669.99 (NVIDIA)

The dif I can tell between 7950 and 7970 is 256 stream processors, but that is a cost of $80 per card. Doesnt seem worth it.

My budget was for $400 for a graphics card. If Radeon cards "worked" could have 6GB 384bit for $400, or even 9GB 384bit for $600 ($70 less than just one NVIDIA card).

This is my approach - still trying to figure it all out

Im looking to edit video, no gaming.

Okay, that makes perfect sense now. Thank you for explaining.

If you will be using FCPX then it currently only uses one GPU. This is also the same with Motion 5. Another big

Now, this is where things get a little tricky. In the past all professional grade software was only written to use nVidia and their CUDA programming. A lot of the modern day software will now use AMD cards as well. But, when looking at Adobe's site for Premiere Pro (http://www.adobe.com/products/premiere/tech-specs.html) we can see that support for AMD is mostly in Windows. This doesn't mean that support won't come in the future. They also are not clear as to whether their software is multi-GPU aware. AGAIN

That maybe a little hard to grasp and I will try to explain further if more explanation is needed.

So, would getting multiple GPUs be worth the time? That will have to be something that you weight in to a cost vs. performance ratio.

My personal story: I have worked with 4k R3D footage on an i7-3770k with a GTX 560Ti 448 Core and had very little issues. My real issue is drive speed and RAM. Those parts will need to be upgraded soon. Lastly, we work in Premiere CS6 and FCPX.

Good luck and stay in touch.

 

[ATB]

Okay, that makes perfect sense now. Thank you for explaining.

If you will be using FCPX then it currently only uses one GPU. This is also the same with Motion 5. Another big

Now, this is where things get a little tricky. In the past all professional grade software was only written to use nVidia and their CUDA programming. A lot of the modern day software will now use AMD cards as well. But, when looking at Adobe's site for Premiere Pro (http://www.adobe.com/products/premiere/tech-specs.html) we can see that support for AMD is mostly in Windows. This doesn't mean that support won't come in the future. They also are not clear as to whether their software is multi-GPU aware. AGAIN

That maybe a little hard to grasp and I will try to explain further if more explanation is needed.

So, would getting multiple GPUs be worth the time? That will have to be something that you weight in to a cost vs. performance ratio.

My personal story: I have worked with 4k R3D footage on an i7-3770k with a GTX 560Ti 448 Core and had very little issues. My real issue is drive speed and RAM. Those parts will need to be upgraded soon. Lastly, we work in Premiere CS6 and FCPX.

Good luck and stay in touch.

Schooled once again, thank you for the sweet post.

I lately have been considering Media Composer 7 (AVID) since I was told it is the industry standard. I am going to be using Pro Tools 11. Might be nice to keep everything AVID for video and recording audio.

Im still confused by Apples website when they refer to graphics card requirements for FCPX, M5 and C4. GPU thats supports OpenCL. They also list Radeon cards as well in addition to NVIDIA.

AVID recommends NVIDIA Quadro family graphics cards. I cant afford those.

I see alot of Radeon cards listed which support OpenCL in these links (and the one you posted).

Yes, this is hard to grasp. Your input appreciated.

http://www.avid.com/US/products/media-composer#specifications

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4664

http://www.apple.com/finalcutpro/specs/
"OpenCL-capable graphics card or
Intel HD Graphics 3000 or later."

http://9to5mac.com/2013/06/11/apple...coming-alongside-new-mac-pro-later-this-year/
"...support for the new Mac Pro means support for the machine’s dual workstation GPUs and AMD FirePro Graphics..."

Here's one more

http://streamcomputing.eu/blog/2011-12-29/opencl-hardware-support/

 

[Solidww]

I hope that Apple releases Dual GPU support for FCPX. I wish I still had the link to this video I saw about FCPX. Never mind here it is. http://vimeo.com/73797466 This video shows how things are changing in editing software. Skip to around 12 minutes when he begins talking about editing.

Industry standard, blah blah blah. Personally, I don't understand Linear editors. Call me weird but they don't make as much sense as FCPX. Plus, if your going to use Mac OSX then why do so and not use their software. Seems like pretzel logic if you ask me. Here is another video talking about the future and editing software. http://youtu.be/ArCL_UWfPck

Basically, what is happening is that old habits die hard and PROS want to keep things the same.

I am ranting and raving now, but I will say this. If price is an issue which it seems to be. Think about this.

CS6 will cost you 2000 for Production premium and then when it gets too old you will have to rent CC at whatever Adobe feels like charging you. Now,
FCPX - 300
Motion 5 - 50
Compressor 4 - 50
Aperture 3 - 80 (If you want to edit stills further then iPhoto will allow)
Logic X - 200 (If you want to edit or create music further then Garage Band will allow)
Grand Total - 680!!!! WTH!

To me the choice is clear. Anyway, keep me posted this conversation is moving well and we are both learning.

I will add one last thing. If you do decide to go with Apple's set of software then AMD supported cards will perform beautifully for you.

 

[ATB]

FCPX, M5, C4 was my first choice
The reason for my new build was for Pro Tools 11 (home studio). I own all the necessary equip minus the computer and software. Just recently became interested in editing digital video. Either on OSX or Windows Ill be using Pro Tools 11 for recording audio. Garage band was just for fun, Pro Tools 11 includes a ("powerful") sequencer as well really dont need Garage Band but its so inexpensive and Ive had alot of fun with it I said why not. Media Composer 7 is $250 for student version, FCPX is $300 - $50 isnt the issue though, Im just uncertain. PT11 and MC7 would all run on windows without any problems (in theory) - building a hackintosh for a newbie (me) seems daunting, also its very precarious as well - Id be relying on others to help me get it going.

So many options! I have been thinking that if I did go the AVID route and use MC7 I could run both PT11 and MC7 on Windows 8 without any issues, and I wouldn't be so reliant on others to help me get afloat and stay afloat (with a hackintosh).

Installing Mavericks STILL seems pretty sweet and doubt Ill give up on it. But I was considering. Im not very computer literate, perhaps after I take some programming courses I will be though. Everyone knows how easy it is to build a computer and install software, click it together and insert cd/dvd, click next - youre done.

Was also concerned that if I ever did get "work" in editing Id be using a hackintosh and not a "real" mac, this might pi** some people off, maybe not. W8 + PT + MC7 = no issues legality (also means the boring/safe route lol) although theres nothing boring about PT 11 or MC7. I do really like all Mac applications Ive used and would still like to build one for myself but after so much consideration it might not be necessary for me, unless I end up using FCPX M5 and C4. Aperture 3 sounds pretty sweet as well!

 

[Solidww]

OH, dude. I totally understand your predicament.

If your willing we here at the community will help you get that computer up and running correctly. Stick to the recommended builds and the amount of help your able to find will be pretty vast. When I first bought and built a Custom Mac, I had a lot of help from the Mods and other members. If your going to be working and need to start working right away then maybe using Windows to do the initial install would be a good idea. Either way let us know when you take the plunge and we will try to help out.

 

[ATB]

Nice, thank you!